A Word From Begin the Iron Curtain – America Beware!


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest Re-Posted Feb 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: I simply feel compelled to address the
The Interview That Killed the Anti-Work Movement
American people…..what has happened to your values? Has ambition disappeared entirely?
To even think that my father left a communist country under horrific stress and difficulty with his wife and two children in tow and bring us here and to have my brother or me simply be satisfied at 30 yoa to be a dog-walker wishing for fewer hours is absurd! I think he would have shot me himself!! and I would not have blamed him!
I thought I had died and gone to heaven when we arrived! No, I’m not famous but I’ve been self-employed, in private practice for over 40 years and to hear this ambitionless jackass is more than offensive!!……Perhaps he should try living in another country that provides no opportunity and demands abject compliance!!
What has happened to the desire for fulfillment of the creative spark? I believe the Nation is descending into a hell that I had prayed never to see or endure again!

RD

REPLY: Every person I know who came to the West from Eastern Europe has expressed the same shock. This is what they left. This cancel-culture is PRECISELY what took place under Communism. You were not free to express what you really thought or you would go to the gulag. I went behind the Berlin Wall before it fell. I know fully how you could not speak freely. This is precisely what is taking place here in America.

These are the people I believe are undermining all our values. Schwab has come out and outright stated that the US will no longer be a Superpower. He wants to overthrow the United States. Soros is pumping money is to defund the police to intentionally push the United States into total chaos. Anyone taking money from Soros should be tried with conspiracy to treason.

How to Protest Successfully: The 2022 Freedom Convoy


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada Re-Posted Feb 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The 2022 Freedom Convoy is underway in Canada as countless truckers have gathered in Ottawa, forming a gridlock. They have a clear agenda and request — repeal all COVID mandates, now! Prime Minister Trudeau cowardly went into hiding before the truckers arrived and now conveniently claims he tested positive for the coronavirus yet again. He can quarantine, but the truckers will be waiting for him once he runs out of excuses to hide.

The truckers have clear demands and leadership. Citizens have warmly welcomed the truckers as they’ve passed through countless towns, with people and churches donating food, shelter, and money to the cause that will benefit everyone, even those outside of Canada. Numerous protestors have declared online that their hotels and nearby eateries no longer require masks and everyone is in the fight together.

The protestors are respectful. They have not left behind any damage, and citizens have cleaned up any trash left behind. The organizers have asked other protestors to report anyone who seems to be a nuisance who might be attempting to detract from the cause. Even the police have praised the thousands of protestors for their collectively calm behavior. They are not burning down buildings or asking for vague demands. As much as the media would like to paint this as a white nationalist movement, as they tend to do when they are losing an argument, they cannot deny that there is a sense of unity among Canadians right now who are peacefully fighting for their freedoms. This historical movement is simply about COVID mandates.

The Freedom Convoy wants Justin Trudeau to admit he violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and repeal ALL mandates. The message is clear, and the protestors have no intentions of leaving until Trudeau comes out, faces them like a man, and eliminates all COVID-related restrictions.

Pfizer Protest in Paris


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Feb 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Angry Parisians took to the streets to protest outside of the Pfizer building, shouting, “Assassin!”

French President Macron plans to seek out his second five-year term this April, but his draconian policies have made him a rather unpopular president. An Odoxa poll showed that Macron’s approval rate has plummeted to a nine-month low of just 39%. “The unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And so, we’re going to continue doing so, until the end. That’s the strategy,” Macron told reporters recently. His plan worked — and backfired! Conservative challenger Valérie Pécresse is eyeing Macron’s position but unfortunately still supports the vaccine pass, unlike Le Pen, Zemmour, and Mélenchon.

The vaccine does not prevent the spread or transmission of COVID-19. The vaccine passport has become a complete power-play for politicians as there is no medical ground to implement such a measure. Civil unrest is rising, and governments need to loosen their grip before the people pull it forcefully from their greedy hands.

Neil Young – Is He Just Anti-American or Another Elite Hard Leftist?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Opinion Re- Posted Feb 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: What do you think of the Neil Young v Joe Rogan conflict?

WQ

ANSWER: Neil Young I believe is anti-American and of course, he lives in Redwood City, California. Young displays the very anti-Constitutional position of a typical left-wing Democrat who thinks anyone who disagrees with him should be canceled and denied all rights. Free Speech is what our nation was founded on. Young seems to ignore the very freedom that allowed him to follow his own passions. He certainly does not have a heart of gold.

A Communist can advocate Communism in America but a person living under Communism cannot advocate freedom and still survive. That is what Free Speech is all about. You are acting like a communist demanding silence from anyone who dares to speak out. Even Lynyrd Skynyrd called Young out for his pompous attitude in Sweet Home Alabama: “I hope Neil Young will remember. A Southern man don’t need him around anyhow!

Any of these over-the-hill artists living off of yesterday who have pulled their songs from Spotify because of Rogan’s interviews of two qualified people, I say good riddance! Go back to your drugs and keep voting for Biden for I think you are probably on the same level and page mentally. Entertainment should remain as entertainment. When they get so full of themselves to think they can use that to further their personal political agenda, that to me is the same as a corrupt politician using their position for insider trading.

Dr. Peter McCullough has come out and stated that Spotify never contacted him. If I were him, I would file a suit against you, Neil, for the deformation of character. Make you prove McCullough is wrong and put out misinformation. I would pay to see that on a PodCast. I think it is about time someone challenges your arrogance Neil – enough is enough.

Neil, don’t worry. Like Johnny Paycheck sang “Take This Job And Shove It“, you can do the same with your music. Personally, I always liked Sweet Home Alabama better than anything you ever did!

That’s my OPINION. Free SPeech means we also must listen to the opposition. If you disagree, Move to Cuba or Venezuela – Please!

Working Class Trucker Protest in Canada Finally Spurs Conservative Party to Question Their Pathetic Opposition, Caucus Triggers Vote on Insufferable Erin O’Toole


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on January 31, 2022 | Sundance | 177 Comments

One of the lesser discussed BIG PICTURE stories being missed within the people’s revolt against totalitarian government under the guise of this pandemic, is the abject void of pragmatic conservative leadership in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

As the working class Canadians rally behind their blue collar truck drivers, the invisibility of strong, opposing voices to the leftist government they are challenging is brutally obvious.

It is almost painful to watch this play out.

Where are the men of courage?  And, that question has nothing to do with gender.

I generally try to stay out of the issue of questioning representative government in other nations; however, when you see the people of Canada crying for freedom, trying desperately to take back their individual liberty, there comes a time when all the free people of the world have no more tongue to bite.

The voice of Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre is what many people point toward when identifying a “conservative‘ within the parliamentary system of Canada.  Forgive my criticisms, but if this is the strongest representative voice of middle Canada, this too is pathetic.  WATCH:

What the hell kind of high school nonsense is this?  A debate about tone, sensibilities, portrayals?  If the goal was to miss the entire moment, skip the point, talk in circles as if the media was the audience, and put on a performance focused on the totally irrelevant; then, mission accomplished.

As a patient and frustrated pragmatist would say, (deep breath) … “When you’re done with all that, can you please address the central need of the voices assembled a few meters away shouting at you?”  Good grief, and this guy is presumably ‘strong‘ compared to Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole.

There comes a time when you need to channel the raw frustration of your constituents – put them into articulate voice and focus – not pontificate about their delicate humanism in your arguments.

As an American, this last year has certainly clarified for me why the Yellow Vests in France, the Brexiteers in the U.K. and to a lesser extent the working class in Australia, all previously supported President Donald J. Trump.

In essence, Donald Trump was/is the one unapologetic voice for working class people just about everywhere.

It also does not go unnoticed how each of the aforementioned nations contain systems of government based on parliamentary constructs that essentially force politicians to compromise principles for nonsensical shades of pastel political coalition building.

This is the time in the history of government when the core, central and basic topic of FREEDOM is being eroded.

This is not a time for pastels.  This is a time for bold contrasts.

The Western values of representative government either support the basic tenet that people should be free, or that government does not.  There is no middle ground.

We cannot be partially adherent to tyranny when the systems of government are demanding obedience to forced medical procedures. At this moment of consequence, we are either free to reject medical treatment – or we are not free.  There is no middle ground.

We are either free, as unique individuals to move around our own country without some arbitrary registration process, or we are not free.  There is no middle ground.

The premise of “papers please” is either rejected, or it is accepted.  There is no middle ground.

These are the core tenets that must be determined, argued, fought about, defended and decided.  There is no room for quisling prose or the parsing of personage amid the discussion.

This is not a debate for the soft consideration about the tender sensibilities of small voices.

Hell, this is a debate that should never have been a debate, but here it is.

Knock, Knock – Wakey, Wakey – Honk, Honk.

Every conservative politician must now, in this moment of extreme significance, rise to the needs of this damned occasion, fight for freedom like they are the third monkey on the ramp to Noah’s Ark, or get the hell out of the way and let the people with dirty fingernails decide the outcome.

The moment is now.  The moment, this moment, is what the truckers of Canada and the free people around the world who support them are trying to force upon unwilling government leadership around the world.

Every conservative politician in Canada should be forced to look at this little girl and justify their action or lack thereof.

There is no middle ground.

Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way!

She deserves better than this:

CANADA – Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is facing an internal revolt and some members of his caucus are prepared to trigger a vote on his future as early as Wednesday, sources told CBC News.

MPs opposed to O’Toole’s leadership have collected enough signatures — 35 so far — to hold a secret ballot to decide his fate, sources said.

A vote by 50 per cent plus one of the 119 sitting Conservative MPs calling on O’Toole to step down would force him to make way for an interim leader immediately.  Sources tell CBC News that O’Toole’s caucus opponents believe they have the necessary votes, with at least 60 MPs agreeing that he has to go. (read more)

Alberta Canada and Montana USA Border Trucker Protest Continues in Support of Ottawa Effort


Posted 0riginally on the conservative tree house on January 31, 2022 | Sundance | 398 Comments

The border crossing between Coutts, Alberta (CA) and Sweet Grass, Montana (USA) continues to be blocked as truckers allied against COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine passports are united.  The Alberta protests are in support of the larger trucker protest taking place in Ottawa.

Canadian authorities in the province of Alberta have tried and failed to get the Canadian truckers to back down from their border blockade.  The U.S. truckers are supportive of their Canadian allies, and both groups are united in the effort. The blockade is a protest against US and Canadian governments mandating that truckers must be “fully vaccinated” against Covid-19, which came into effect on January 15.

According to Coutts Mayor Jim Willett, about 100 trucks were blocking Highway 4 on the Canadian side, causing a miles-long backup on Interstate 15 in Montana. About 50-100 trucks have reportedly been stuck on the US side since Saturday.

In an effort to remove the blockade, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have cut off the supporters who were bringing food and supplies to the truckers.   The familiar and typical ‘cut off the supply line‘ maneuver.

Rebel News via Convoy Reports has more.

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Sketchy Economic Data About to Surface, White House Proactively Seeds MSM Narrative


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on January 31, 2022 | Sundance | 198 Comments

For those who have been following closely, the economic data releases over the past several months have been almost impossible to reconcile from a Main Street perspective.  Additionally, the scale of inflation is skewing everything that stems from dollar valuation.

CTH is certain the fourth quarter GDP statistic (+6.9%) is useless and was an outcome of several flawed metrics: (1) the import data was misrepresented and not accurately deducted (supply chain issue); (2) the value of building inventories was over calculated as an outcome of inflation; and (3) the value of all economic activity was subsequently skewed because the economic outputs (goods and services) were recorded at higher prices.

It has been our estimation that Main Street economic activity was substantially less than the data discussed by financial pundits.

Our review also sees the employment situation on Main Street as considerably less optimistic than claimed.  Bolstering that point, in a very weird and structured preview from the White House, spokesperson Jen Psaki made an odd statement today.  WATCH (14:35 prompted):

Psaki is prepositioning a narrative that employment data in January will be lower than expectations, perhaps considerably lower, as a result of “workers calling out sick” from COVID, ie. the omicron variant, during the time when employment polling was conducted.  That is a very unusual proactive narrative.

Those talking points would not get into the briefing material if there wasn’t a person highly concerned in the economic circle to put them there.  Quite frankly, this is a talking point the White House spokesperson would never have in their briefing book if there wasn’t an advanced notification of their need for it.

Someone knows something.

Given the nature of how heavily manipulated the government institutions are, there’s a strong likelihood the Bureau of Labor and Statistics have been surprised by their employment polling results.  That internal tremor, a concern amid the political tribe, is then conveyed to someone, who then relays the warning to the White House economic team…. and that’s how Psaki gets the briefing material.

In the background of this unusually proactive economic and employment notation, the Atlanta FED recently released their forward-looking estimation [DATA HERE] of the first quarter GDP.  Keeping in mind the official 4th quarter result was +6.9%, the Atlanta Fed is saying the first quarter of 2022 looks like 0.1%.

[DATA SOURCE – Graphic Source]

The economy of the United States doesn’t go, heck, cannot go, from 7% to ZERO in one quarter without some massive dynamic, like closing down the economy…..

Unless….

Unless, the 6.9% was manufactured horsepucky from the outset.

The economy doesn’t go from 6.9% growth in December to ZERO growth a few days later without something substantive happening in the background.  My guess is the inventory buildup, cited by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in December, was the result of a massive drop in demand that took place in the three previous months.

The inventory and inflation driven inventory evaluation that helped inflate the metric of the Gross Domestic Product, was not the result of the supply chain coming back to normal.  I will bet a donut the inventory buildup was specifically because demand collapsed.

My view of that situation is supported by the historic drop in productivity that was noted in the last half of 2021.  The federal spending, and the federal subsidies for businesses and corporations to retain employees, ran past the period where payrolls would have naturally contracted due to the drop in demand.

If I am correct, the employment situation was artificially influenced, because interventionist COVID spending/bailouts allowed payrolls to be covered, and employees to remain on the payroll register, during a time when they should have been dropped if natural sales/profits were responsible for filling the payroll accounts of companies.  This would explain the macro drop in productivity while macro employment was retained.

The natural outcome of that viewpoint is….  When the federal deposits into the private sector payroll accounts dry up, employers eventually drop employees.

That rather dramatic scenario is enough to trigger the BLS to freak out when they did the payroll polling.

Just a hunch…  We’ll find out on Friday.

Canadian Prime Minister Accuses Protesting Truck Drivers of Stealing Food from Homeless People While Flying Racist Flags


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on January 31, 2022 | Sundance | 699 Comments

In a remarkable effort to Alinksy the voices of those who oppose the Canadian government COVID restrictions and mandates, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claims the truck drivers in Ottawa are stealing food from the homeless while flying racist flags.

This entire tweet thread statement by the Canadian Prime Minister is just bizarre in the extreme.

(LINK SOURCE)

The need for control is a reaction to fear.  However, this type of lashing out, an effort to create a completely alternate reality of actual conditions on the ground in Ottawa, is indicative of a profoundly unstable person.  These are the extreme messages one would see from a person carrying pathological traits of borderline personality disorder.

Perhaps, due to the ideological nature of the echo chamber around him, this may be the first time Trudeau has witnessed a gathering of people who do not agree with his worldview.  Obviously, he doesn’t know how to handle what is in front of him.

Something is very unstable, creepy to a level of visible discomfort, in the way Prime Minister Trudeau is attempting to message to his national audience.   Put another way, this guy is losing his s**t, in public.  This level of public breakdown should be the number one story on the world stage.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Refuses to Meet with Protesting Truckers in Ottawa, Denounces Protest Group as Abusive, Angry and Irresponsible Mob Harassing Canadians


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on January 31, 2022 | Sundance | 575 Comments

In a rather remarkable doubling-down against his own people, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to the microphones today to denounce the protest group that threatens the institutions of his government. [Video Below] Trudeau said the group does not represent truckers or responsible Canadians.

Introducing his position against the truckers and the Convoy for Freedom, who have demanded the government remove COVID-19 mandates and forced vaccinations, the Canadian prime minister portrayed the movement as an irresponsible minority of angry protestors who have defiled monuments in the capital.

Trudeau said he would not meet with the group, because they do not represent “true Canadians,” and are not worthy of recognition.  Trudeau contrasted his prior support for the Black Lives Matter protestors and cast the Freedom Convoy as filled with “hateful rhetoric.”  He further stated they were attempting to “incite violence” and said the movement did not deserve support.  WATCH:

The smug and condescending tone in the delivery of his official position toward the protest was quite remarkable. The prime minister also warned politicians not to support this group and demanded that all supporters of the convoy reflect on their association, as the protest group is viewed by the government as hateful and without concern for the greater good of Canadian society.

Trudeau said he had no interest in going “anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric and violence towards their fellow citizens.”

So to those responsible for this behavior — it needs to stop,” Trudeau said. “Canadians at home are watching in disgust and disbelief at this behavior, wondering how this could have happened in our nation’s capital.

Trudeau said that while Canadians have the right to protest, no one has a right “to abuse, intimidate and harass … fellow citizens.” He promised to press ahead with pandemic measures despite “intimidation” from some members of the convoy.

Biden Violates His Own Agenda & the Constitution


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jan 31, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Biden is saying he will only appoint a Black Woman to the Supreme Court if actually violating the law and all judges could file a class-action lawsuit for violating their Civil Rights. Congress has enacted a variety of laws prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information in the federal sector. The definition will be found in 42 U.S. Code § 2000e. In fact, since Biden is openly discriminating against everyone else other than a black woman, he could be criminally charged under Title 18, U.S.C., §241/242 – Conspiracy Against Rights. This statute makes it unlawful for two or more persons to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person of any state, territory, or district in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him/her by the Constitution or the laws of the United States, (or because of his/her having exercised the same). Biden legally could face 10 years in prison, but the DOJ would never do such a thing.

Trump nominated Ada E. Brown, a Black Woman, for the Supreme Court and 13 Democrats blocked her nominations. Suddenly, diversity didn’t mean anything. Simply that she was nominated by Trump was all that mattered. Justice Barret, who the Democrats hated, refused to block a plan by Indiana University to require students and employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. It does NOT matter who appoints justices. They do NOT always vote on party lines as is the case on Capitol Hill.

In this WOKE environment, the question then arises, does that mean that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland can declare that he identifies as a Black Woman and that means he should be qualified for the Job?

Of course, there are rumors that Biden can nominate Harris and get her off the disastrous ticket that he thinks he will round in 2024. According to the 25th Amendment of the Constitution, if the vice president for whatever reason vacates the office, the president has the power to appoint a new vice president subject to the approval of both houses of Congress. If both the president and the vice president die, the speaker of the house becomes president, according to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. He could appoint Willard Mitt Romney as Vice President who is Republican who votes Democrat and hated Trump. Romey would jump at the chance since he failed in his bid against Obama. Then Biden can pretend he has a balanced ticket and Romey can accelerate the downfall of the United States alongside Kerry since he also thinks humans are causing all the climate issues.

Let me make one thing very clear. Biden is engaging in racial profiling. I have pointed out that this is all nonsense. Chief Justice Roberts was appointed by Republicans but he is the one that upheld Obamacare. Black judges are most likely to be harder on blacks than white judges. The reason, is they know they cannot be accused of being racist and they will more often look upon such black defendants as giving all blacks a bad image. The white judge will keep in mind the race card and will fear being called racist. This is standard in New York City federal court.